STATE OF ORISSA Vs. KHAGESWAR @ SANTOSH BEHERA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LEARNED Sessions Judge, Keonjhar found the accused Appellant guilty of the offence under Sections 302 and 201, I.P.C. on the ground that he caused homicidal death of his wife Kuni and three children namely Hanati, Ramesh and Bubu. Finding the accused guilty of such offences, learned Sessions Judge awarded death penalty against the accused and in view of the provision in Section 366 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (in short 'the Code'), referred the matter to the High Court for confirmation of the death sentence. Accordingly, Death Sentence Reference No. 1 of 2006 has been registered in this Court. Challenging to that order of conviction and sentence, accused has preferred an appeal from jail and that has been registered as Jail Criminal Appeal No. 27 of 2006. On service of notice of Death Sentence Reference, accused through counsel did not file any written submission but opted to argue as against that sentence. Thus, the Death Sentence Reference and the Jail Criminal Appeal having been heard analogously are disposed of by this Judgment, which shall abide the result of both the cases.

(2.) ACCORDING to the case of the prosecution, accused Khageswar @ Santosh Behera after being released on bail from the allegation of committing rape and murder of another woman, came to the village of the deceased Kuni and married her. Through their wedlock the above -named three children were born. It is the allegation of the prosecution that accused has the temperament and tendency of being attracted towards other women, whether married or otherwise, and for that more than once he had to face opposition. About a fortnight before the date of occurrence he showed indecent behaviour to Sanju Perei (P.W. 4), a married woman, and prior to that incident he had also expressed his mind before her to marry her after killing his wife and children.

(3.) IN course of the investigation the Investigating Officer followed routine manner of investigation relating to inquest, dead body challan, obtaining opinion report, post mortem report, visit to the spots, seizure of incriminating materials, search and arrest of the accused and requisition for his medical examination, forwarding of incriminating materials to the State Forensic Science & Laboratory for specialized opinion, etc. and on completion of the investigation submitted charge sheet against the accused. After submission of the charge sheet and commitment of the case to the Court of Sessions, a full fledged trial was taken up, which concluded with the Judgment delivered on 01.02.2005. Learned Sessions Judge recorded the conviction for committing murder of all the deceased persons and awarded death sentence to the accused. When the matter came up before this Court in the shape of Death Sentence Reference No. 2 of 2005 and Jail Crl. Appeal No. 21 of 2005, this Court found defect in framing of the charge in as much as charge was framed only with the allegation of murder of deceased Kuni, but the conviction was recorded for death of the mother and three children and accordingly death sentence was awarded. On 13.01.2006 this Court, therefore, set aside that order of conviction and remanded the case for framing of charge afresh and for conducting de novo trial.